Can i smack my kids uk

Smacking, of course, is not the obvious next step: speaking for myself, I only ever smack as a very last resort, and only after warning my child first that one is coming if they don't behave. Mostly, the threat of a smack is enough to make my child stop misbehaving and start The thought of a slap across the wrist or leg a slap, note, not a whack - I'm not dishing out any bruises here is more than enough to stop the strop.

I was smacked as a child. My father was smacked, as was his father, as was his father. They were probably caned at school as well; and I know that if something has been done for years doesn't make it right, but I can't help noticing that they haven't all become abuse victims either.

To presume that smacking makes you a bad parent, or being smacked makes you some kind of quivering abuse victim, is ridiculous. Why is there so much focus on smacking being so terrible? I've seen parents smack their children, and five minutes later the child has forgotten what they were tantruming about and is playing happily. But I've also seen a parent screaming at their child, who remains in tears and visibly terrified for a long time. Which is worse? So why is there no ban on screaming at your child?

I strongly disagree with hitting in any form. I believe that any form of discipline should leave the child feeling loved and secure. This does not turn them into spoilt horrid children quite the opposite. We as parents are teachers and need to give our children loving guidance and understand their stage of development and have reasonable expectations of their behaviour. Make your environment safe for your child and let them be children. Julie, UK All parents should have the right to reasonably chastise their children.

Who decides, though, what is reasonable? A law court could never tell me how I can discipline my children. There are, however, many people who should never have a say in how to discipline their children.

I expect Fred and Rosemary West thought they were chastising their children reasonably. Helen Adams, Great Britain I was smacked as a child. Not often. And I use the word "deserved" on purpose because there were times when I really did push the boundaries of my parents' tolerance. But we have to draw a distinction. I was not "beat-up" by my parents, neither do I consider my parents actions as physical assault. I will smack my children on the occasions that they deserve it.

It never did me any harm whatsoever apart from a briefly stinging behind. Charles Bell, UK The whole point of discipline is to teach a child right from wrong. We would all agree that a child should be taught that hitting is naughty, how then can you justify a smack?

Sonia Sawula, England No, it isn't. You don't smack other people's children, do you? If you think a child needs hitting, then one of you has already gone wrong. My son is 13, honest, upright, respectful and caring of others, and he has never been smacked in his life. Too many parents cop out early on and find that fear is all that works later.

Parents must be able to exert some authority over their children as they are learning between right and wrong. Smacking is an effective way of teaching children. Sometimes words are not enough. If my Mother told me to do or not to do something I wouldn't always listen, however smacking always got the message across. If children are not smacked when they have been naughty, then they will think they can do as they please. Smacking is not the same as child abuse, I am from a loving family and don't consider myself as ever being abused.

Rachel Wormald, UK Smacking children gives them the wrong message. It tells them that they can force their will on others through violence rather than through reasonably discussing a problem. Katie, UK Have you ever tried to reason with a child who is throwing a tantrum. I have 2 young children. If they are naughty and warrant it, they are smacked on the hand.

I don't like doing it. When it has to be done, it must not be done with vindictiveness of a sense of revenge. It is supposed to make them stop and think, I've done something and I've had my hand smacked.

As for the gent in the story, I believe that he totally lost it. You cannot just let children get away with be naughty without some form of chastisement. Sometimes, I threaten to withdraw treats or toys from them. My latest trick is to suggest to my eldest 3. This has worked several times and not resulted in a smack. I love my children dearly and it upsets me if I have to smack them. It should not be banned, but there should be clear guidelines laid out about what is acceptable. Loing Father, UK The notion of 'reasonable chastisement' is a useful one.

I wouldn't like to have any child smacked in any way but if every smack was illegal I am afraid that a form of political correctness might lead to children separated from a loving parent. That said, the taking down of leggings in a public place and hard smacks to bare flesh is beyond reasonable chastisement and the extra trauma to the child in having the parent arrested etc.

Les Johnson, England I believe there to be a very fine line between reasonable and justified discipline of children, and excessive force. In practice, this line will vary according to the context and the temperament of the child.

It is, therefore, clearly not possible to legislate effectively about what is acceptable and what is not. The final decision must lie with parents, whilst careful monitoring of child abuse must receive more attention than it is currently afforded. Roger Oakeley, UK Most of us smack out of frustration, or because that's what our parents did. In my experience it's counter productive. Parents I know who are 'smackers' don't have better behaved children - they just hit them more often.

You can't expect to ignore your kids and let the TV or Video be the babysitter and then smack them back into line when they misbehave. In general, kids want nothing more than to please their parents - but they need your attention to do that. Of course, teenagers are a different matter but they're beyond help anyway! Front Page. UK Politics. Talking Point. In Depth. On Air. Feedback Low Graphics Help. Children's charities are calling for a clarification of the law after a father was convicted of assault for smacking his daughter.

Sweden became the first country in the world to ban smacking in the home in when it outlawed corporal punishment. Wales has approved a ban on parents smacking children and is expected to come into force in Welsh Minister for Children Huw Irranca-Davies says that there is no place for physical punishment of children in a modern and progressive Wales. We were brave enough to be the first in the UK, and amongst only a few in Europe and the World, to put such arrangements in place.

It is right that as a Government, we take action to protect children and support parents to use positive and effective alternatives to physical punishment. Generally, arguments for light smacks are made on the basis that "mum knows best", it's a deterrent for more serious disobedience and biting, and that it never did the parent any harm. Those against smacking think it's an out-dated practice, which is now banned in many other countries.

In October a dad who allegedly smacked his five-year-old son on the bottom for breaking a plant pot was charged with assault. The year-old man claimed he had smacked the child as a reasonable chastisement - but has now appeared in court on charges of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said that bruising had appeared on the young boy after the alleged assault on May But defence lawyer Greg Peters said his client did not accept the bruising had been caused by the smack at the man's home in Chard, Somerset. Somerset Magistrates' Court in Yeovil was told the father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to hitting the child, but said it was not enough to have caused an injury.